The writing style is entertaining and more informal than you might expect in a history of such a grand topic, although it is solemn when we get to the disasters. Something I don’t particularly remember reading about before is the development of food for astronauts. Humans not only need to eat, but they like to eat, so it’s a very worthy topic to dwell upon.

I’d recommend the book if you’re interested in the history of space exploration with a focus on the Americans vs the Russians. There isn’t a huge amount of technical detail either, so it’s very accessible. In fact, it’s less about the wonders of engineering, and more about the improvisations and cut corners! There is a nice selection of images too.

First published in 2023 by Penguin.

Related reviews: Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin, Look Up: Our Story with the Stars by Sarah Cruddas, The Moon by Oliver Morton, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham.

The writing style of this book is clear and infused with gritty humour. It’s very readable. If you have a phobia of helicopters, you probably shouldn’t read it. Tim is very enthusiastic about a lot of things but especially helicopters. There is so much about them that if I was given a helicopter to pilot right now, I’m sure I could do it. How hard could it be?

For me, the book was a little too long. However, there are many mentions of family, friends and colleagues, so I’m picturing them all reading about themselves. Maybe it had to be that long, to fit everyone in. It’s a very honest book, in which he admits his own mistakes and what he learned from them. This is the second astronaut memoir I’ve read, after Buzz Aldrin’s book. The two are very different, as Tim’s is about his life leading up to his peak (Peake?) moment – being in space – while Buzz’s is about what happened after his career highlight.

First published in 2020.